The good news is the Caps have been up big on us before in playoff series and we've come back to win. I'm not losing hope yet.

The wings need to show up and play like they did early in the Philly series, the defense has to get back to playing, you know, defense, and Fluery needs to get hot. And it would help if someone else besides Sid showed up to play.

While it's not over, it's not looking good. These are not your grandparents Washington Capitals and these are definately not your grandparents Pittsburgh Penguins. Just for starters, the early-mid 90's teams at least had a PP to fear. Teams can freely take penalties against this team and they have nothing to fear.

While there are many problems with this team, here's a crazy idea for Bylsma to start out with when they come back here to Pittsburgh for two games. How about shadowing #8 instead of leaving him wide open? Do you ever notice that Malkin and Sid always tend to have a body in front of them? We might want to start putting a body on Ovechkin or we can just allow him to get HT's every night from here on out?

The Penguins are in a little bit of trouble. They're reaching the point where they can't make mistakes, or give up another game really. However, it's not over. Both games have been close, and the key plays have been made by the Caps so far. You'd like to think if the games remain close that Malkin, Crosby, Gonchar or Fleury will make the difference or come up with a big play.

As mentioned, the key is the wingers so far in this series. Malkin is getting no support from his wingers, and the Caps have been able to contain him. Kuntiz and Guerin haven't scored yet, but they at least deliver on the forecheck and have put themselves in the position to score, which gives Crosby a little more room, when the Caps have to defend against them.

Malkin's wingers have been unable to do both of those for the most part, and the Caps have been able to close him off. Tank needs to get back to the gritty winger that shows up every now and then, lands some hits and chips in a goal. I'd love to see Kennedy get some time on Malkin's wing.

I'd love to see Orpik have a big game - especially early on - and set the tone for the whole game.

IMO, Bylsma has to mix up the lines some. First option would be putting Sid and Geno together with Bad-Ass Billy Guerin. Put Kunitz on a line with Staal and Mr. Kennedy. Throw a 3rd line together with Mad Max between Cooke and Fedatenko. Round out the 4th line with Adams, Dupuis and dress Godard (he couldn't possibly contribute less than Sykora/Satan).

Letang has stated that he's fine to play tonight, no word from Bylsma on if he will play him. If not, I would rather see Gogo called up to take his spot rather than Boucher. I saw enough of Boucher in the Flyer series. I'm sure that won't happen though because Bylsma has wood for Boucher.

Bylsma has stated that there will be changes with the lines tonight even though the lines are switched up after the first five minutes anyways. Eitherway, I'm hoping to see...

Malkin - Sid - Guerin (Unfortunately, I think we have to pair the two at this point)

Kunitz - Staal - Fedotenko (Solid chemistry when Sid went down)

Kennedy - Talbot - Cooke (Do not want to break up that third line completely)

Dupuis - Adams - Godard

At this point and after waiting to see what Sykora would do in the Capital series, both Sykora and Satan are worthless, but if Bylsma feels the need to choose between the two I would still rather see Sykora over Satan.

They need to do something with Malkin at even strength. Malkin the playmaker has no one to pass to. Malkin the sniper has no one who to pass the puck to him.

I'm so surprised by how Sykora has disappeared. He has 25 goals and 46 points, which are really impressive when you consider it's been so long since he's been consistently putting up points. What happened to make him go from 25 goals to suddenly not being able to score at all in the NHL? He had 22 goals in 56 games. Then 3 goals in 20 games.

They need to do something with Malkin at even strength. Malkin the playmaker has no one to pass to. Malkin the sniper has no one who to pass the puck to him.

I'm so surprised by how Sykora has disappeared. He has 25 goals and 46 points, which are really impressive when you consider it's been so long since he's been consistently putting up points. What happened to make him go from 25 goals to suddenly not being able to score at all in the NHL? He had 22 goals in 56 games. Then 3 goals in 20 games.

19 of Sykora's 46 points came off of the power play. As soon as Kunitz and Geurin arrived, Sykora's time on the PP disappeared along with his points. Not to mention his rapidly diminishing skills and confidence. Thank the hockey gods Shero didn't cave and give him a 3 year deal.

What happened to make him go from 25 goals to suddenly not being able to score at all in the NHL? He had 22 goals in 56 games. Then 3 goals in 20 games.

I have no idea what's up with Sykora. Your guess is as good as mine and the rest of the people who have been wondering what is wrong with the guy. Some are speculating that he's still not 100% healthy, but who is at this point in the season? Some are speculating that it's a confidence issue. That's all fine and dandy if you are a young player and you are simply in a slump, but we are talking about a 32 year old veteran who has looked like hell for some time now.

Eitherway, I think Sykora's days in Pittsburgh are over. Taking into consideration how many players will be FA's at the end of this season, we should definately free up enough cash in order to sign a winger or two for the top two lines. It's up to Shero to get it done. Hopefully his decision making is better than it was during this past offseason.

And fwiw...

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10:37 AM:Kris Letang joined his teammates for the morning skate. He took a normal shift in the defensive rotation. Though, his status is still unknown - and will likely be the old "game-time decision" - it is a good sign for the Penguins.

The forward pairings haven't changed since Game 2 with the following combinations used this morning:Kunitz-Crosby-GuerinFedotenko-Malkin-SykoraCooke-Staal-KennedyDupuis/Satan-Talbot-Adams/Godard